The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to electrical connectors that have electronic components and can be mounted to a substrate of a device.
Some known connectors include electronic components that process signals communicated through the connectors. For example, some connectors include magnetic or ferrite components such as transformers that filter data signals received by the connector. Contacts on one side of the connector receive the data signals from a device and communicate the signals to the magnetic or ferrite component on the connector. After the signals are filtered by the magnetic component, the signals are communicated to other contacts on another side of the connector and sent back to a receiving device.
Some of the known connectors have the contacts that receive and send signals on the same side of the connector as the magnetic component. For example, the connectors may have a mounting side that is mounted onto a circuit board of the device, and an opposite supporting side on which the contacts and the magnetic component are provided. Placing both the magnetic component and the contacts on the same side of the connector may limit the number of contacts or magnetic components that may be included in the connector. For example, the overall size of the mounting and supporting sides of the connector may be limited, and including both the magnetic component and the contacts on the same side can reduce the total number of contacts and magnetic components that can be included in the connector. Other known connectors provide the contacts on edges that interconnect the mounting and supporting sides of the connector. However, the sizes of the edges also may be limited, thus limiting the number of contacts that may be provided on the connector.
The need for a greater number of contacts, increased electrical isolation, and/or more functionality in the electronic components increases as the need For increased computing speed grows in the same or reduced size package. As described above, known connectors may have space limitations that limit the total number of contacts and electronic components that may be included in each connector. Therefore, the space limitations of known connectors also may limit the efficacy of the connectors in new and improved devices.
A need exists for a connector that is mountable to a device substrate and has a more efficient distribution of contacts and electronic components on the connector.